Arrow: "Code of Silence"Review

Several weeks back Arrow found a contrived way to forestall the next showdown between Oliver Queen and Damien Darhk, leading to a disappointing lack of the latter in recent episodes. Luckily, the drought is over. Darhk returned with a vengeance this week as he targeted Ollie on multiple fronts and hired Demolition Team to stir up trouble in Star City. The link between Darhk and this new team of villains was tenuous, but hey, Team Arrow always needs something to punch, right?

Demolition Team were very much a means to an end this week. With so much emphasis on personal secrets, relationship drama and the buildup to the big debate between Ollie and Darhk’s wife, Ruve, the show needed some excuse for everyone to don their costumes and go beat up bad guys every so often. There was really nothing more to the villains than that.

For the most part, that was enough, luckily. Last week’s episode was fairly disappointing in the action department (particularly that final duel with Malcolm Merlyn). Leave it to director James Bamford to pick up the slack. Bamford is a veteran fight coordinator on the show and previously directed “Brotherhood,” which boasted some of the best fight scenes in Arrow’s four-year history. This episode didn’t necessarily live up to that standard, but it was still a visual treat. The way the camera tracked the fighters and moved in and out of the close-combat battles gave the action an extra flair you don’t normally find on this show. The three-pronged final showdown with Demolition Team was especially memorable, especially when Diggle knocked his opponent out with his own hammer.

That appeal carried over to the flashbacks. The plot didn’t advance much this week, but we did get a cool rematch between Ollie and Conklin. The final rematch, as it turned out. Conklin’s final words also offered a foreboding hint of what’s to come in the remainder of the season. The island seemed pretty well deserted when Ollie escaped in the pilot, so either he gets these prisoners to safety or they get wiped out by Reiter.

The early portion of “Code of Silence” offered a welcome glimpse into the inner workings of HIVE. It appears that Merlyn managed to buy his way into the organization with his little revelation to Darhk last week. A funny twist of fate considering that one of his mandates as Ra’s al Ghul was to quell this little HIVE uprising. This sequence also offered a sense of the turmoil plaguing the group as Team Arrow continue to thwart their plans. Darhk himself had an awesome Darth Vader moment when he used his powers to kill a fellow agent on the other side of the Atlantic. In case we needed any further reminder of how gleefully evil he is.

Darhk kept mostly to the shadows this week, allowing his wife to taunt Ollie and friends for him. This episode built up a fun little rivalry between Ollie and Ruve, as the former couldn’t help but drop all sorts of innuendo about her husband’s secret plans. You do have to wonder if Ollie was being a little reckless there. The more he taunts her about knowing what HIVE is up to, the more she and her husband might start to wonder where he’s getting his information from.

The candidates took the stage this week.

On that note, it’s slightly astounding at this point that Darhk doesn’t know the identity of the Green Arrow. It’s not as if Ollie has ever done a particularly good job of hiding that information from inquiring minds. At the very least, why hasn’t Merlyn spilled the beans if he’s so hellbent on seeking revenge? I could almost believe that Ollie and Merlyn are running an elaborate con against HIVE, but Ollie would never allow his son to enter into that equation.

As for the debate, it was disappointing that we never actually got to see Ollie and Ruve square off. It's one thing to see a Channel 52 broadcast raving about Ollie's performance. It's another thing entirely to see him make his case on stage and become the hero Star City needs him to be.

The real conflict this week rested on Ollie and Quentin’s shoulders as both men wrestled with the need to keep secrets from their significant others. It’s interesting to look at where their relationship was a year ago and how similar the two men have become since then. Ollie’s secret son has basically been a ticking time bomb ever since the Flash crossover last December. The first time Felicity learned the truth, she had a meltdown on the spot. Is the inevitable second time going to be any different, especially with Barry’s warning about time always trying to correct itself? Both Stephen Amell and Paul Blackthorne delivered solid, emotionally charged performances as they struggled to reconcile the desire for honesty with the need to keep their loved ones safe.

Generally, this show has been pretty pro-honesty when it comes to secret identities and so forth. “If you love someone, be completely honest with them,” is basically the moral. This episode didn’t quite stick to that formula. Quentin opened up to Donna, but Ollie kept his secret buried. What’s more, he made that choice with Thea’s blessing. Maybe it’s not the right choice, but at least he has someone on his side backing him up for a change. Plus, it’s always nice to see the show strengthen the sibling bond between Ollie and Thea.

This episode managed to end on a sweet note before veering in a much darker direction in the final scene. Felicity got a truly amazing wedding present from Curtis, one that suggests she won’t be paralyzed much longer. It’s a little funny that Felicity now has one more thing in common with Batgirl, as Barbara Gordon’s paralysis was cured by a similar bio-implant doohickey in the New 52 comics.

As with Batgirl, there’s part of me that wonders if it’s not just better to leave things as they are and let there be at least a little representation for disabled people in the Flash/Arrow universe. Still, Curtis’ gift was a very sweet moment that finally solidified a connection between he and Ollie. Ollie’s line, “Curtis, you’re terrific,” was easily the best moment of the episode. Maybe Felicity doesn’t need to be healed, but it’s nice to be reminded that good things can happen to these characters now and then.

Or maybe not. The final scene revealed that Darhk has already taken William hostage, which leaves the fate of Samantha very much in question. That leaves Ollie in a terrible predicament for next week. Lying to Felicity may be the least of his worries at that point. Once again, after letting Damien Darhk fall by the wayside for a bit, the villain is truly back with a vengeance.

The Verdict

It's always a good sign when Damien Darhk returns to the forefront in Arrow. The show picked up steam this week as Ollie and Quentin dealt with the consequences of their secrets and the debut of Demolition Team allowed for plenty of costumed butt-kicking. It would have been nice for these new villains to be explored in greater depth, or for the episode to actually spotlight the big debate, but the conflict was enjoyable regardless.

Great

Arrow improved this week thanks to the return of Damien Darhk, strong action scenes and plenty of character drama.